Tag Archives: low calorie

I like to make low-calorie desserts, so I can go back for seconds and thirds without the guilt. I am all about moderation, but there are times when a girl needs to eat three cookies.

This was one of those times. I was having a severe sugary-sweet craving and, of course, I am in desperate need to go grocery shopping. Thankfully, I found a bottle of blackstrap molasses in the back of my cabinet! I don’t even remember why I originally bought it, probably for a “recipe-that-never-was,” but regardless I was up for putting it to good use.

I’d like to introduce you to my molasses cookies!

This is what happens when you stick me in a near-empty kitchen with a sweet-tooth, and a desire to make something I can eat in multiples of two without feeling like I will gain 10 pounds as soon as I swallow the first bite.

To make these a little less fattening, I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the butter. I also substituted 1/4 cup of the sugar with 6 packets of stevia. Instead of using all white flour, I used 1/2 cup white and 2 cups wheat.

At the end of the day, these cookies have approximately 92 calories and 0.3 grams of fat. The sugar is 10 grams, but play around with the amount. You may be able to substitute more packets for the sugar, or cut back on the amount of white sugar altogether. If you’re really feeling creative, I bet you could even sub flax meal for the egg. I thought about doing that, but seeing as how I was already doing a lot of substitutions, I didn’t want to let things get too crazy up in here!

If you’re anything like me, you may have found yourself stuck in a rut in the kitchen. You end up cooking the same recipes over and over and, while they might be good, they get old fast.

I’ve been trying to kick myself of that habit by making a point of trying at least one new recipe per week. So far, I’m really enjoying tasting new dishes! I go out of my way to pick recipes that won’t use a bazillion unknown ingredients, and that are reasonably healthy.

On that note, if you haven’t already stumbled up Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog yet, I highly encourage you to do so. I found the recipe for my Double Chocolate Brownie Batter Pancakes on there, which were incredible and unbelievably low in calories! So far she’s two for two in terms of serving up heavenly and healthy versions of a variety of chocolatey goodness. This little baby is a recipe she created as well, and holy cow! It’s freaking good.

One-Minute Chocolate Cake(can be gluten-free!)

1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp cocoa powder

3 tablespoons spelt flour (or white, or even peanut flour)

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 stevia packet (or 1 more tablespoon sugar)

1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable oil (Edit: many commenters have said it still tastes good if you sub applesauce or mashed banana. But I can’t personally vouch for the results if you make that substitution.)

Step 2: Add liquid, stir, then transfer to a little dish, ramekin,
or even a coffee mug. I used the unsweetened applesauce instead
of oil to add less fat to the recipe.

Step 2

Step 3: Microwave 30-40 seconds. If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to spray your dish first (and then wait for it to cool before trying to remove it).

Step 3

Step 4: Chocolate Covered Katie has a recipe for raw frosting you can use to top it off, or do as I did and drizzle with chocolate syrup!

Voila!

If this doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, I don’t know what will! It’s the perfect single serving dessert, if you want something guilt-free! The pictures don’t even do this justice, in my opinion.

Of course, there are days when you just have to have the real thing, but this is great when you want to feel indulgent. My husband was out of town, so making a whole cake for just little-old-me seemed like a lot of work. This was a great alternative, and I could have my cake and eat it too! (Ok, that was lame.)

**I have since made this for a second time, but I added a tiny scoop of hot fudge in the batter before microwaving. If you’re not afraid of a few extra calories, this is a melt-in-your-mouth addition!

Do you have any recipes that are to die for? Do you splurge on desserts, or do you like to find ways to make them healthier? Share!

Move over Wheaties. There’s a new breakfast of champions in town, and it doesn’t taste like bran. Nope, I’m talking about waking up to melt-in-your-mouth chocolate first thing in the morning. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie for Double Chocolate Brownie Batter Pancakes. Not only do these take minutes to throw together, you get to douse them in chocolate syrup. I’m asking you, does it get any better? Yes, it does.

Chocoholics of the world get their fix of deliciousness, plus the ENTIRE recipe is a mere 130 calories. I made these for New Year’s Day breakfast, and they are as good as they look. My husband can be quite picky at times, and his short stack was devoured in the time it took me to go into the kitchen and get a glass of milk.

Here’s what you’ll need to satisfy your deepest chocolate cravings first thing in the morning:

1 and 1/2 packets nunaturals stevia or 1 T plus 1 tsp sugar (you can use less if you’re planning to top with syrup and don’t want the actual pancakes to taste sweet.)

1/16 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 T applesauce (or oil, if you don’t like fat-free pancakes)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

5 and 1/2 T nondairy milk

1) First thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cocoa, stevia and salt. I just used regular all-purpose flour because that’s what I had on hand. I also used regular cocoa powder, instead of the dark.

2) Add all the wet ingredients and mix well: applesauce, vanilla and milk. I used fat-free skim milk.

Mix in applesauce, vanilla and milk.

3) Make pancakes! You should get 6-8 silver dollar size cakes out of a single batch. I chose to double the recipe because I wanted to make bigger pancakes.

I made these slightly bigger than silver dollars.

Now I read that both maple syrup and chocolate syrup tastes amazing on these little beauties. I chose to use chocolate syrup because I wanted to really make these decadent. Plus they’re already lo-cal, so you might as well! I haven’t tried it yet, but I imagine adding sliced bananas or strawberries would taste yummy, too.

Need I say more?

I found the nutritional breakdown on Katie’s blog using whole-grain spelt flour, Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa, and Almond Breeze almond milk. If you use different ingredients, this info would vary but probably not a whole lot.

Last night, I was excited to make a meal I knew would be healthy and fast. It literally took at the most a half hour to prepare and make. There aren’t very many ingredients required for the recipe, but I did tweak a few things which is of course optional. We had extra for leftovers and they still were good the next day, so you’ll have something for a healthy lunch too!

Meanwhile, in a dutch oven or soup pot, cook beef or turkey with the onion until meat is no longer pink, then drain the liquid remaining. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, chilies, cumin, pepper and salt. This is where you would add about a half cup of salsa, black beans and the cayenne pepper as well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 3-4 minutes.

This was such a breeze to make. I got the recipe from my Taste of Home cookbook, which I LOVE! There is a section devoted to healthy, 30 minute meals and the nutrition information is included (see below). Now, before you serve the dish, taste it to see if there it’s missing something. You might prefer it on the spicier side or vice versa. This is very versatile so you couldn’t go wrong adding to it. I find it to be perfect for busy, hectic evenings and it will definitely remain on my recipe rotation! Enjoy!

I recently fell victim to a not so healthy caramel apple dip. It’s advertised as “low-fat” and tastes great! But unfortunately the calories are 150 per tablespoon. For someone who slathers her apples in the dip, I need something that allows for a little more wiggle room in terms of calories. I probably have that one tablespoon after eating only two apple chunks. This would have been a diet disaster if I hadn’t caught that on the nutrition label! Yikes!

A healthy alternative which I have been munching on is made with either non-fat yogurt or reduced-fat cottage cheese.

Directions:

Take about 1/3 cup of either the yogurt or cottage cheese

Add 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar

Add cinnamon to taste. Also could add nutmeg if you like that extra flavor.

Now, I am not positive about what this equals in terms of calories per serving. I just stumbled across this recipe on a random website and decided to give it a whirl. I know for sure that even if the calories are similar to that of the caramel dip I am replacing, there are a ton of added health benefits that you get from eating the non-fat yogurt like calcium and protein. The same can be said for the reduced fat cottage cheese. Also, the light brown sugar is about 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon. So if you add two table spoons, that would be 8 grams of sugar. Still not too bad, especially if you don’t eat the whole thing of dip at one time or all to yourself! Most yogurts that advertise having “fruit” in them also contain a ton of sugar anyways, so this is still not as much as you would be having otherwise.

Most importantly!! You are eating a healthy fruit full of fiber! Leave the skin on the apple for added nutrients. This is actually a filling snack and will keep you from munching on crap the rest of the day. I even eat this for dessert after dinner if I’m craving something sweet.

So last night I hosted our book club meeting. I feel so lame admitting that I belong to a book club, but it’s a nice way to get together and chat with the girls. I’m surprised they haven’t kicked me out because I’m terrible at finishing the books we pick. It’s not that they aren’t good, I’m just about the worst procrastinator known to man. This month we’re reading Pride and Prejudice, which is my ultimate favorite so I’m not too concerned with this one. Plus, my brother bought me a Kindle for Christmas so I’ll be able to read it on my new technology!

For dinner, I made the Everyday Mac and Cheese recipe that I posted the other day. I was seriously impressed with how it turned out! Delicious! I don’t think I allowed the sauce to thicken enough as it was a little on the soupy side, but still really good! My husband loved it. I used the whole wheat noodles and skim milk instead of 2 percent. The perfect comfort food for a cold, winter day.

Now I just need to figure out what I’m making tonight! Any suggestions?

I came across this recipe in Fine Cooking magazine. I’m always looking to try new recipes and this sounded healthy and delicious! It’s relatively quick and easy to make… only 3 real steps. Definitely a fool proof recipe worth trying!

1) Heat the oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy-duty pot over medium heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. *Note: I added potatoes, celery and carrots at this point to make it more hearty*

2) Meanwhile, purée the chicken broth with one can of black beans and bean liquid in a blender.

3) Add the cumin and oregano to the pot and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in the black bean purée and the remaining whole beans with their liquid; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the flavors are melded, about 10 minutes. Stir in the sherry and season to taste with salt and pepper.

*Note I modified this recipe by sprinkling in some cayenne pepper to give it a little more zing. This is definitely one that you could spice up or down to your liking.